I typed out my whole story in a thread, but then it got deleted So now I'll post it here...

Sunday, my friend and I (the one who has the trailer...Jasmine's ride) were supposed to meet at the barn at 7AM. I had packed almost everything in my car the night before, but didn't get to bed until about 12:30. I set my alarm for 5:15AM so that I could get up, take a shower and leave for the barn (I'm 30 mins away) and have a little time to spare. Well, my alarm went off at 5:15, and I remember reaching over and turning it off....the next thing I remember is my mom coming into my room saying, "Sarah, wake UP! It's 10 mins to 7!!!"

OMG...I JUMPED out of bed...threw on some clothes that were close, brushed my teeth, threw all my makeup in a bag, grabbed my boots and my cooler with drinks and hauled butt to the barn (my normally 30 minute trip took only 20 mins ). I got to the barn at about 7:20, and we were on the road by 7:45.

We got to the grounds, got the horses unloaded and settled, and we went and registered...this was both our very first shows, so we were both a little nervous, and really had not a clue what we were doing...we asked a lot of questions. We let the horses hand-graze a bit, while we were watching the in-hand classes and the english classes. All the sudden, I realized that they are CRUISING through the english classes, so it's probably a good idea to get the horses tacked up and work them a little and settle them down.

As I'm tightening Jasmine's girth, my friend says,"#%^#@!!! I don't have my bridle!" So she had to unhitch her truck and drive all the way back to the barn, and then come back...which took about 40 minutes. This gave me the time to braid Jasmine's mane (I was bored...I had nobody to talk to).

When she got back, we proceeded to ride...Jasmine was being VERY good, despite the fact that I KNOW she was excited, and she could feel that I was a bit tense. I finally relaxed and rode at a jog without stirrups for about 20 mins....and did lots and lots of walk to jog and jog to walk transitions (because Jazz likes to rush into a trot and then slow down into a jog)....pretty soon she was going just perfectly. But I was looking around at all the other western pleasure horses that were warming up....they were rock solid too! And these are western pleasure bred horses who have had months of professional training (Jasmine is NOT western pleasure bred...she's a reining horse....and I was the one who trained her to do western pleasure)...so I was a bit nervous to go against them.

During the break between english and western classes, I got to school Jasmine inside the ring for about 15 mins...that was her first time ever in that ring, and there were about a dozen other horses in there too...she was pretty good...a little excited, but good.

Soon, it was time for me to get ready for my first class....I went into the trailer to change....changed my jeans, and was about to change my shirt when I realized that in my mad dash out of the house that morning, I had forgotten to wear a BRA! Thankfully, I was wearing a light gray tank with one built in that I could wear under my white show shirt!

My first class was Walk/Trot Schooling Western Pleasure...Jazz walked in the ring, and it was like she knew she had an audience...her full attention was on me, even when we walked by this dumb girl who was holding her screamin, crazy horse right next to the arena fence. They put us through our paces, and then called us into the center to announce the results. There were 7 horses in the class, including me and Jasmine. They started announcing...I was just waiting for my number to be called. They announce 7th, not me....6th, not me...5th, not me...4th, not me....3rd....now I was getting really excited and expecting my number to be called next....3rd, not me...WOW, now REALLY happy....2nd, not me...OMG I JUST WON THE CLASS...MY VERY FIRST CLASS! I collected my blue ribbon along with a pretty glass plate that the first placers got.

I only had one class to wait before my next class....the big one....W/T western pleasure ages 14+....this was the class that all the very nice horses would be in...the ones I had watched schooling. And boy, did I feel like the odd man out. All the nice horses were wearing these silver dipped saddles, and their riders were wearing their fancy Hobby Horse outfits...and here I am, sitting in my work saddle, wearing my Wal-Mart outfit.

We entered the class, and went through our paces...Jasmine was a little bit faster in this class...but she listened to me very well...I only had to correct her a few times (by this time, she was a bit tired, and kept trying to drop from a jog to a walk). They brought us into the center to hear the results. This class, I was sure that the most I had gotten was a 4th or 5th. They started reading the results....I wasn't last (PHEW!)....or 7th...or 6th...or 5th....or 4th....as soon as I knew that, I was flying...I would have been HAPPY with a 4th or a 5th...just a RIBBON....I wasn't 3rd...or 2nd....again I had won the class! Against these big-shot horses and riders. I couldn't have been more proud of my little mare!

Sunday was an amazing day for me...Jasmine was so good....I guess she was better than I even thought that she was. Onward and upward!!!

The links to the videos if anyone wants to see them...
W/T Schooling western pleasure...
http://media.putfile.com/WalkTrot-Sc...stern-Pleasure

W/T Western Pleasure...
http://media.putfile.com/Sarahs-First-show-1

Stay tuned for the next show!